YouWinNow.com Blog

The Hawks could be without Teague against Rondo and the controversial Mavericks2/25/2015 4:54:18 PM

The Hawks could be without Teague against Rondo and the controversial Mavericks

The Atlanta Hawks will go for their their first season sweep of the Dallas Mavericks in 11 years. Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer's ball-sharing, pass-happy offense has the Hawks soaring to a 7½-game lead over the Raptors atop the Eastern Conference, while the Mavs are dealing with some chemistry issues despite winning nine of 12 games and three straight after last night's 99-92 victory over the Raptors.

Dallas' harmony was broken when head coach Rick Carlisle and Rajon Rondo exchanged words during a timeout in the third quarter last night. Rondo was never inserted back into the game but Carlisle said that he would be the starting point guard against the Hawks because "that's what we brought him here for." Rondo had 13 points, 11 assists and three steals against the Hawks on December 22, his second game with the Mavericks since being acquired from the Celtics but Dallas lost that game 105-102. Monta Ellis, who had a team-high 18 points in that loss, has totaled 43 points in the last two games after combining for 26 over the previous four.

Atlanta hasn't lost more than two straight games, but they're trying to get back on track after a midseason funk that followed a team-record, 19-game winning streak. The Hawks have lost four of seven, including an ugly 105-80 setback to the Raptors on Friday, but they bounced back with a 97-86 win at Milwaukee last Sunday. Their balance has made the Hawks a very dangerous team, as five players average at least 11.8 points with Paul Millsap leading the way at 16.9. As far as this game is concerned, Jeff Teague is questionable due to an illness, which could potentially leave the Hawks without their second-leading scorer (16.8 points per game) and assists leader (7.3). Dennis Schroder filled in for Teague and stepped up his game by scoring a career-high 22 points in the first meeting against the Mavericks. Now Schroder could replace Teague again as the Hawks try to sweep the season series with the Mavericks for the first time since 2003-04.